Bratta's Piano Bar & Ristorante, Fort Myers

Many dishes offered from the menu of its predecessor, Biddle's

Oct. 6, 2011

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Bratta’s Piano Bar & Ristorante

Food: 3 starsAtmosphere:3 starsService: 3 1/2 stars

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The Fort Myers building that began its life as a middling Bennigan’s, known for late-night debauchery and green beer on St. Patrick’s day, is now a very decent restaurant serving classically satisfying, mainstream dishes with an Italian accent.

Bratta’s Piano Bar & Ristorante is the latest tenant of 12984 South Cleveland Ave.After Bennigan’s but before Bratta’s the space was home to Biddle’s — the longtime Iona-area favorite that could not make a successful transition to busy U.S. 41.

New owner Michael Bratta, a one-time Biddle’s regular, bought the place in May, tweaking the menu to include his family’s Italian recipes and polishing the once-ragged service to a much-improved shine.

The Bratta’s clientele is still of the Biddle’s type — jazz lovers of a certain age, with specific culinary tastes that tend toward the tried and true.

And Bratta’s caters to those customers nicely.

You won’t find challenging flavors or avant-garde presentations on this menu. What you will find are lower prices, fresh ingredients and generous portions assembled by a kitchen with a sure hand.

Dishes like Biddle’s classic tuna tower are as good as ever at Bratta’s, perhaps better. Stacked high with deftly cubed, jewel-toned bits of sushi-grade tuna, and layered with a smoky, sesame-infused seaweed salad and creamy avocado, the appetizer is delectable — and at $11.99 it costs about a dollar less now.

Bratta’s is a restaurant that can be as expensive or frugal as you like. Share a simple, tasty flatbread for around $10 or go for the $34.99 8 oz. filet Napoleon stuffed with crab meat and topped with Gournay sauce.

At $15.99 the chicken Vesuvio feels like a bargain.

Two roasted, bone-in chicken breasts — juicy and perfect — mingle with tender potatoes and tangy artichoke hearts in a savory gravy that begs to be sopped up with a slice of the freshly baked bread that comes with each entree.

It’s a dish for which you’ll need a to-go box, and it’s one that’s almost as tasty eaten cold, hovering over your counter in the middle of the night.

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Also good: the lobster bisque, served velvety and rich, with a subtle sweetness. I could have done without the oddly crunchy chunks of vegetables in it, however. It is still better than the spaghetti and meatballs which, despite a heavy slathering of tasty marinara, featured dry meat and pasta on the chewy side of al dente. It was the lone miss of an otherwise impressive evening.

At Bratta’s there may be a pianist purring Frank Sinatra classics, adding an unexpectedly polished touch to the sort of tropical, sort of safari-and-fern themed surroundings which have survived from the Biddle’s days.

The mostly top-notch service is also unexpected. Forks and knives swapped in and out between courses, empty plates cleared immediately, crumbs swept and waters refilled with nary a word. Were it not for a 20-minute wait for our check, it would have been a four-star night.

But with a chocolate piano to keep you company, time is relative. This classic Biddle’s dessert is back to delicious form, the adorable miniature grand piano filled with airy espresso mousse and surrounded with plump berries.

"Bennigan’s, Biddle’s and now Bratta’s. 12984 South Cleveland Avenue has never tasted so good."